13 to watch for 2013: No. 3 Fred Couples

Petersen/Getty Images

Fred Couples won twice last year in part-time play on the Champions Tour.

It will be another big year for Fred Couples. For the third time in six years, he will captain the U.S. Presidents Cup team. It’s a role he cherishes and not only because he is unbeaten in the two previous appearances as captain.

This time, Couples will go up against Champions Tour veteran Nick Price, who replaces Greg Norman as captain of the International side. Couples also loves the fact that the Presidents Cup will be held at Muirfield Village Golf Club, the course built by Jack Nicklaus. Couples won the Memorial Tournament in 1998.

“Just to be able to do it a third time, I can't express it enough,” Couples said. “To be able to come back at my age and captain this thing three times is truly an honor.”

The Presidents Cup is a busman’s holiday for Couples, who still has visions of victories on the Champions Tour. It will all depend on how his cranky back treats him. Despite the back problems which limited him to 11 Champions Tour events in 2012, Couples still surpassed the $1 million mark in earnings and finished third in the Charles Schwab Cup race behind Tom Lehman and Bernhard Langer.

Couples led all the Champions Tour in Scoring Average (68.52). He now owns the two lowest Scoring Averages in Champions Tour history. He set the record in 2010 when he averaged 67.96.
Couples enjoyed another memorable return to Augusta National Golf Club where, at age 52, he became the oldest second-round leader in Masters history before finishing T12.

In September, he was voted into the World Golf Hall of Fame. The induction will be in May and it will just be another great occasion in a 2013 season that promises to be full of them for Couples.

2012 QUICK REVIEW